Eric Schmidt is stepping aside as Alphabet's chairman

Eric Schmidt is stepping aside as executive chairman of Alphabet, the parent company of Google.

Schmidt, who has been with the company for 17 years, will remain on the board and continue to serve as a technical adviser.

"Since 2001, Eric has provided us with business and engineering expertise and a clear vision about the future of technology," Alphabet(GOOGL) CEO Larry Page said in a statement on Thursday.

"Larry, Sergey, Sundar and I all believe that the time is right in Alphabet's evolution for this transition," Schmidt said, referring to Page, Alphabet president Sergey Brin, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. "In recent years, I've been spending a lot of my time on science and technology issues, and philanthropy, and I plan to expand that work."

"After ten years as CEO and seven as executive chairman, I can't wait to dive into the latest in science, technology, and philanthropy," Schmidt, 62, added in a tweet. "I look forward to working with Larry and Sergey on our future here at Alphabet."

To succeed Schmit, the board is expected to put a non-executive chairman in place.

The sales growth, among its best in recent quarters, was driven in part by Google's continued traction serving ads on mobile devices and YouTube.

After ten years as CEO and seven as Executive Chairman, I can't wait to dive into the latest in science, technology, and philanthropy. I look forward to working with Larry and Sergey on our future here at Alphabet. https://t.co/nVnZqMEHoI

Schmidt was politically active as CEO. He was a member of President Barack Obama's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, and helped the government fix the health care website after a disastrous rollout.

Google also paid a record $22.5 million fine to the FTC for getting around Apple's no-cookie policy on the Safari browser, and Google was caught purposefully snooping on people's Internet sessions while driving by with its Street View cars.

Forbes, which ranked Schmidt at No. 119 on its list of the world's billionaires, calculates that the outgoing chairman has net worth of $11.1 billion. Schmidt earns $1.25 million per year in salary, and hasn't take a bonus as of 2016. Last year he took home $2.4 million as part of a deferred compensation package.